---
title: 'Research Scientist, Data at Pika'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/research-scientist-data-pika-palo-alto-qbm0kc8mhbnz'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Research Scientist, Data at Pika

- **Company:** Pika
- **Location:** Palo Alto, CA
- **Compensation:** $185k–$400k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/pika/82835e51-284c-47af-b254-088fff23acd5

## Job description

## ABOUT THE ROLE

At Pika, we are pioneering the next generation of creative infrastructure built around real-time, multimodal generation and intelligent agentic platforms. We are looking for a staff or lead-level Research Engineer, Data to architect and scale data engineering systems supporting model training for our advanced multimodal foundation models. This pivotal role will strengthen our research teams by building, optimizing, and owning large-scale data pipelines and robust ML data curation, ensuring our foundation models have access to the highest quality and most diverse datasets. If you are passionate about powerful data infrastructure and innovative research-engineering, join us to make an impact for millions of creators.

## WHAT YOU’LL DO

- Take ownership of large-scale data pipeline architecture and implementation to support model training and research workflows for text, image, audio, and video datasets
- Partner with research and engineering teams to curate, clean, and manage diverse, sensory-rich datasets for pre-training and mid-training of multimodal models
- Develop strategies and tools for scalable data ingestion, labeling, filtering, augmentation, and storage
- Ensure data quality, reliability, and compliance, including managing privacy and ethical considerations throughout the data lifecycle
- Optimize data processing, transformation, and delivery for large-scale distributed training pipelines
- Prototype and productionize new methods for dataset creation, management, and continuous improvement in response to researcher needs
- Contribute to the integration of research-driven data advancements into production-ready systems
- Stay informed on emerging data engineering and ML data management developments, bringing best practices to our systems

## WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

- 5+ years of experience building and scaling data pipelines for machine learning applications at staff or lead engineer level, ideally in research or model training environments
- Strong background in data engineering and ML data curation for LLMs, VLMs, or other large-scale multimodal models
- Expertise in distributed data systems (e.g., Spark, Hadoop, Ray, or similar) and efficient large dataset processing/ETL workflows
- Proven ability to build robust, scalable, and production-grade data infrastructure for ML pipelines
- Experience developing tools for data labeling, filtering, deduplication, quality assurance, and dataset management
- Strong programming skills (Python, SQL, PySpark, or similar) and familiarity with cloud data platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
- Knowledge of privacy, compliance, ethics, and best practices in data collection and management
- Excellent cross-functional collaboration, problem-solving, and communication skills
- Passion for enabling cutting-edge generative AI and creative technology through data excellence

## WHAT WE OFFER

- Competitive salary and substantial equity in a high-growth startup
- Full health benefits, 401k matching, and more
- Collaborative, mission-driven team environment with major growth opportunities
- Flexible on-site/remote hybrid (HQ in Palo Alto, CA)

## ABOUT PIKA

Pika empowers creators by building state-of-the-art agentic and multimedia platforms. Our vision is to break down technical barriers to creativity, making real-time generative and intelligent orchestration accessible to all. Join us and help shape the next evolution of creative technology!

If you are a data-driven research engineer excited to lead and scale the data infrastructure powering real-time multimodal foundation models, we want to hear from you.

## About Pika

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Pika is an AI-native creative platform that enables users to generate, edit, and transform videos—and now "birth" persistent AI agents—from text, images, and voice.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States (also has an office in Mountain View, CA)
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Demi Guo (CEO), Chenlin Meng (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Generative AI / AI Video & Agent Platform
- **Target customers**: B2C (creators, social media users, marketers) and B2B (developers via Pika API and MCP)
- **Mission or purpose**: To make video creation accessible to everyone, and now to give everyone a "creative partner" AI agent

## Products & Services
- **Pika Video App**: The core product—an AI video generator that turns text prompts, images, and videos into new clips. Supports styles (3D animation, anime, cartoon, cinematic) and effects like "squish it, melt it, cake-ify it."
- **Pika Agent**: A persistent, portable AI agent that users "birth" and own. Multi-modal (text, voice, image, video) and lives across platforms. Users can train it to have personality, memory, and voice—essentially a creative co-pilot.
- **AI Trendmaker**: A feature that lets users hop on viral video trends with just a selfie and a sound.
- **Pika API**: Hosted API for developers to integrate Pika's video generation capabilities into their own apps and workflows.
- **Pika MCP**: Model Context Protocol for connecting agents to external tools and data.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (estimated at ~$470M post-money based on Series B terms)
- **Total Funding**: $135M across 4 rounds
  - Pre-Seed (Jan 2023): $15M led by Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross
  - Seed (May 2023): Amount undisclosed
  - Series A (Nov 2023): $35M led by Lightspeed Venture Partners
  - Series B (Jun 2024): $80M led by Spark Capital
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Spark Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 27.4% YoY to 59 employees
  - Monthly website visits: ~1.87M (global rank #25,677)
  - Talent sourced from top AI labs (TikTok, Jane Street, Runway, Kling AI, Snap Inc.)
  - 1 active job posting (Head of Engineering) as of mid-2026
  - Launched Pika Agent and Pika API in 2025-2026, expanding beyond video generation into agentic AI

## Competitive Advantages
- **"Birth and own" agent model**: Pika is pioneering the concept of a user-owned, persistent AI agent that evolves with the user—different from one-off chatbot interactions.
- **Multi-modal creative platform**: Combines video generation, agent capabilities, and trend tools in one ecosystem.
- **Strong early traction and talent density**: Raised $135M quickly from top-tier investors; alumni from TikTok, Runway, Jane Street, and other elite tech firms.
- **Small, high-leverage team**: ~59 people operating globally with a "small, dynamic team" culture that values efficiency and ambition.

## Strategic Focus
- **Agent-first future**: Pika is shifting from "just a video tool" to an agent platform where users create and own their AI creative partner.
- **Platform expansion**: Opening up via API and MCP to integrate with external apps and workflows.
- **Global reach**: Operating in 19 countries with a distributed (but Palo Alto-centric) team.
- **Continued R&D in generative video**: Improving realism, style variety, and real-time generation.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Pika describes itself as "small, dynamic" and values "efficiency, collaboration, and creativity." They seek "intellect, work ethic, and ambition."
- **Remote/Hybrid**: Not explicitly stated, but the team is distributed across 19 countries (with the US hub in Palo Alto/Mountain View). Likely hybrid or flexible.
- **Notable perks**: The careers page emphasizes "career growth in a culture that fosters both individual and collective development." They also champion an inclusive culture.
- **Engineering culture**: Tech stack includes Python, TypeScript, Kubernetes, TensorFlow, React, and more. The team has strong representation from top AI labs and trading firms. The open role is Head of Engineering, suggesting they need a senior leader to scale.
- **Impact**: You'd be building the infrastructure for a new category of "owned AI agents" and state-of-the-art video generation—working on cutting-edge generative AI.

## Sources
1. [pika.art](https://pika.art/) – Official website
2. [pika.art/careers](https://pika.art/careers) – Careers page
3. [LinkedIn (Pika Labs)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pika-labs) – Company data, headcount, funding, talent
4. [Craft.co](https://craft.co/pika-art) – Company summary, locations, sectors
5. [Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/pika-ai-self-agent/id6758411447) – Pika Agent app details

## Other roles at Pika

- [Head of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-finance-pika-palo-alto-amgp22pfthqa) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Head of Sales](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-sales-pika-palo-alto-2vyc6rx4jzs7) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Research Intern (BS/MS/PhD)](https://feeny.ai/job/research-intern-bs-ms-phd-pika-palo-alto-rgvx54yph1n5) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/product-manager-pika-palo-alto-ghy7tmfjf3t6) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Head of Growth](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-growth-pika-palo-alto-wkvx79nkgnhn) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Software Engineer, Product](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-product-pika-palo-alto-wjxfx4wsxag0) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Software Engineer, Backend](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-backend-pika-palo-alto-jzyhv95kakwm) — Palo Alto, CA
- [ML Engineer, Inference & Optimization](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-engineer-inference-optimization-pika-palo-alto-mg3v4ygd3yt3) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Research Scientist, Foundation Model (Video Generation)](https://feeny.ai/job/research-scientist-foundation-model-video-generation-pika-palo-alto-7p60ewgn092p) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Research Scientist, Data](https://feeny.ai/job/research-scientist-data-periodic-labs-menlo-park-qbeeqgcbrtaw) — Menlo Park, CA